Callier Helped Put Client on Path to Her Dreams
Center Provided Cochlear Implant Services and Speech-Language Therapy
Oct. 30, 2008
Kate Kitsumritphol is like most college freshmen. She’s busy going
to classes, studying for exams and adjusting to life 1,400 miles from
home. But unlike most of her classmates, Kate received some extra help
from the UT Dallas Callier Center for Communication Disorders.
Shortly before Kate’s first birthday, doctors discovered she had
profound hearing loss. She was living overseas at the time, but her
parents brought her back to Texas, where they believed she would have
more opportunities for school and speech-language therapy.
As a very young child, Kate used a hearing aid, which allowed her to
hear speech sounds so that she could develop spoken language, but it
did not let her hear all of the sounds necessary for optimal speech
communication. Her parents agreed that a cochlear implant might be a
better option.
In 1995, Kate visited the Callier Center for a pre-surgical
evaluation. The audiologists at Callier conducted thorough hearing and
speech-language evaluations to determine whether Kate was a candidate
for a cochlear implant. The audiologists also provided her family with
information about the benefits a cochlear implant might provide their
child.
The audiologists determined that Kate was a candidate for a cochlear
implant, and in January 1996, Dr. Peter Roland, otolaryngologist with
UT Southwestern Medical Center, performed the surgery.
“Everything sounded so clear that I couldn’t believe my ears,”
said Kate. “Unlike with the hearing aid, there was no static at all;
it was if my ears had been fully opened for the first time.”
After the surgery, Kate started school at Arapaho Elementary, where
she also received speech therapy. She found that her cochlear implant
gave her more confidence communicating with her teachers and
classmates, and with a lot of hard work and determination, Kate
excelled academically.
Because of her success in the classroom, Kate was accepted to be a
member of the class of 2012 at Stanford University. She wanted to make
the adjustment to life at Stanford “as smooth and painless” as
possible, so she decided to visit the Callier Center and pursue
additional therapy services to help with her speech intelligibility.
Berkley Williams, speech-language pathologist, worked closely with
Kate by helping her improve the way she facilitates communication with
other people. “Our goal was to make Kate’s speech sound more
natural, fluent and intelligible, said Williams. “Part of Kate’s
therapy was to walk around the Callier Center and talk to people. The
people provided feedback about what they could and could not
understand.”
Kate was committed to her therapy and practiced the new communication
techniques at home. Williams also videotaped Kate throughout the
therapy so that she could see and hear how she was communicating.
Williams met with Kate for a total of 12, 45-minute sessions. Kate
received assistance from the Callier Care Fund, which helped to
subsidize the cost of treatment services.
“I am forever grateful to all the people who made my surgery
possible,” said Kate. “The therapy I received at Callier has given
me the confidence I needed to make a successful transition to college
life.”
Source: http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2008/10/30-003.php
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